The Hermit

IX — This is the card of personal enlightenment. With this card you not only see how the light of knowledge can light our way but also it relates to the fact that at times we really do need to pull our energies inward.

Here we see the image of an old man holding a lantern. The lantern representing the knowledge or the “light.” There is much learning with the Hermit it is the internal learning. It is that knowledge that can lead to peace.

When this cards shows up in a reading it is talking of the need to keep to oneself. To listen to the inner voice and to be soothed by the knowledge we receive is the basis of this energy. With this card a client or the person being read for can expect that music on the radio and books that one just picks up will hold the answers. It is the energy around us that helps to direct us. It is through these subtle messages we can gain much clarity. The Hermit is about trusting that inner guidance.

In a card reading right side up, it represents the need to be alone, to take time to recharge ones batteries and to rid yourself of all the extra stimulus that keeps you from being able to really understand or see what is going on. It represents the need to cut oneself off from the social limelight. There is no need to be around others when you see this card; this card represents one who needs time to be alone!

In reverse, it can still indicate the need to be left alone, but in this case it may be someone or a group of people that need to be cut out of the clients life. Maybe these people are saying something or bringing something into a situation that the client needs to be wary of or distance him or herself from. In some cases, this can indicate being rebellious to what is being said by others. In any case there is the cutting off of others when this card is in reverse.

In Meditation this card can bring you the understanding and the clarity a person needs to achieve a sense of internal peace, particularly when things get too crazy and there is a need to rest and pull back from the social grind, which sometimes doesn’t get us anywhere. Meditating on the Hermit can help to center us and remind us that the real truth lies within each and everyone one of us; all we have to do is listen.